“I don’t think the Mormon Church is a cult,” Perry said. “People who endorse me or people who work for me, I respect their endorsement and their work, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that I endorse all of their statements.”

Robert Jeffress, a senior pastor at First Baptist Church in Dallas, sparked a controversy Friday by disparaging Romney and his religion.
Jeffress introduced Perry to a group of religious conservatives in Washington, D.C., Friday, telling audience members that they have a choice between a conservative out of convenience or a candidate of true conviction.

Perry thanked Jeffress for the introduction and told him he “knocked it out of the park.”

Jeffress later spoke with reporters and said Romney is not a Christian and that Mormonism is a “cult.”

The incident highlights an ongoing question surrounding Romney’s second presidential bid: whether his religion is a negative with his party’s base.